Poll: Cubans More Satisfied with Their Government, Barack Obama than Americans

A historic public opinion poll recently taken in Cuba reveals that Cubans are more satisfied with their communist government than Americans are with democracy, the New Republic reported.

According to the Univision/Fusion poll, nearly 40 percent of Cubans responded that they are satisfied with the political system there, with 53 percent saying they are dissatisfied. A Gallup poll found that 65 percent of Americans are “dissatisfied with the nation’s system of government and how well it works.”

Cubans also had a much more favorable opinion of President Barack Obama than Americans: 80 percent said they have “a positive opinion” of Obama, compared to his approval rating in the US, which hovers around the 50 percent mark. Regarding their own heads of state, 47 percent said they have a positive opinion of Raul Castro, and 44 percent viewed Fidel Castro positively.

Other poll findings include:

73 percent of Cubans say they are optimistic about their future

79 percent are dissatisfied with the economic system, while only 19 percent of Cubans said they are satisfied.

72 percent of Cubans say they are satisfied with the education system.

68 percent of Cubans say they are satisfied with the health care system.

Another stark result of the poll is that three-quarters of Cubans said they feel that “they have to be careful what they say in public, while only 19 percent said they feel they can express themselves freely in public.” Given that fact, it’s not surprising that only 32 percent of Cubans have a positive view of the Communist party, with 58 percent saying they view the party negatively.

As far as relations with the US are concerned, 96 percent of Cubans favor ending the embargo and think that the normalization of relations with the US would be good for Cuba. While 64 percent feel the new relations will lead to economic changes for Cuba, just 37 are as optimistic that they will lead to changes in the country’s political system.